A Goddess Walks Among Us
by Master Kusojs
Summary: Hermione Granger grew up with her parents, but without any friends her age. She had no idea of the adventures that awaited her as the avatar of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. Join her as she collects the 13 Brush Techniques and fulfills her destiny. HP/Okami
1. Prologue

A Goddess Walks Among Us

Introduction

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Ten-year-old Hermione Granger sighed heavily. Her parents were at a meeting for their neighborhood association and wouldn't be back until well after her bedtime. All of her homework was done—embarrassingly easy for the girl—and she'd already eaten the dinner that her parents had left for her and put the dishes in the sink to be washed. She plodded through the empty house, her footsteps echoing on the cold floor and the bare walls.

A heavy weight settled on her shoulders as she changed into her nightclothes, as if a ton of something rotted and putrid had been strapped to her chest. Feeling abnormally cold for August, she threw an extra blanket onto her bed and curled up under the sheets, falling into a fitful sleep.

"_Hermione," said a warm, feminine voice. Hermione opened her eyes, finding herself floating in a void of swirling pale yellows and cream-colored clouds. In front of her was a magnificent white wolf with crimson markings and a cloud-like mane, sitting on its haunches and staring at her._

"_Who—who are you?" Hermione asked._

"_I am Amaterasu," the wolf said in that same warm, motherly voice, "Nippon's Sun goddess."_

"_Am…am I dreaming?" Hermione asked._

"_No, dear Hermione," Amaterasu said. "You are in the Celestial Plane, home of all the deities. I brought you here because you are to my avatar in the Material Plane."_

"_Your…avatar?"_

"_Yes. You will be a physical manifestation of my power in the world you know." Hermione balked at that, holding her hands up in front of her._

"_I—I can't…," Hermione said. "I'm Christian, and—" Amaterasu let out a short bark of a laugh._

"_That doesn't matter," she said. "There is evil spreading throughout your land. You will need to gather the powers of the Celestial Brush Gods to aid another Chosen defeat his destined foe."_

"_Who am I supposed to…? Why me?"_

"_All in good time, Hermione," Amaterasu said. "I will lend you my power, to aid you on your quest." Amaterasu shifted into a glowing orb that flew forward and circled around Hermione once before sinking into her chest._

Hermione awoke with a start, breathing heavily. The clock radio on her nightstand read 2:14 a.m., and her room felt colder than ever. She pulled herself out of bed, a pressure building in her that needed to be emptied. The bright lights in the bathroom blinded her, and she clenched her eyes shut against the glare. Her eyes adjusted quickly and she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She froze. She blinked at herself. She reached a hand forward to touch the mirror, staring wide-eyed.

Her hair had turned snow-white, though it was still a bushy mess, and a pair of pointed ears was poking out of it, flicking this way and that. Swirling crimson markings decorated her face, shoulders, chest and back.

Ten-year-old Hermione Granger, avatar of Amaterasu, screamed.

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AN:/Hello, there. Kusojs here with his first story published (though not the first written). The attempt was to do something that I hadn't seen before, and after playing Okami for several hours straight, this idea came up and attacked me.

While I do appreciate reviews, I'm not going to go and beg for them, or withold updates until I get a quota. I will listen to all helpful reviews left by those authors that care enough.

I haven't decided on pairings, yet, and considering that Hermione and most of the crew haven't really hit puberty yet, I don't think I'll have to for a while.

And yes, Hermione will be getting all of the Brush Techniques, but not all at once. She's going to have to work for them.

Until next time, then!


	2. Shadows

AN:/ New Chapter, a bit later than I was planning. In any case, Hermione gets a bit more experience. Shiny things happen.

I know I forgot the disclaimer in the prologue, so here it is:

Disclaimer: I have never, do not, and likely will never own the rights to Harry Potter, Okami, or all related trademarks. This story was written for entertainment purposes only, and no money is being made. This disclaimer applies to all previously published chapters, this chapter, and all chapters that will be published.

Have a nice day, and enjoy the read.

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A Goddess Walks Among Us

Chapter One: Shadows

* * *

Ten-year-old Hermione Granger, avatar of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, screamed. It was a high-pitched, very loud scream that grated on the nerves of everyone it ripped out of sleep, including Emma Granger, Hermione's mother. Emma groaned and elbowed her husband.

"Go see what's wrong," she said. Her husband grunted and rolled over, still asleep. She elbowed him again, but the burly man refused to wake up. "Fine, I'll go." Emma forced herself out of bed and tied her bathrobe around herself, plodding down the short hallway to the bathroom Hermione used. The light was on, a blinding dagger stabbing at her through the small gap between the open door and its frame. Emma tapped lightly on the door.

"Hermione? Is everything alright?"

"I—I'm fine, Mum," Hermione choked. Emma pushed the door open to see her daughter standing in front of the sink, staring wide-eyed at her reflection. Perhaps it was just her grogginess, but for a moment her daughter's appearance seemed blurry. She rubbed her eyes and looked again, only seeing her bushy-haired, buck-toothed daughter.

"What was that scream for?" Emma put her hands on her hips, still a bit pudgy even after nearly eleven years. Hermione looked at her, her little chest heaving as she tried to think of an explanation. If asked, she'd never be able to explain why, but she just felt that she should keep the dream she had to herself.

"I…I saw something in the window," she said quietly, glancing towards the tiny little window that overlooked their back garden. Emma crossed the spacious bathroom to peer outside. A branch in the big elm rustled and shook, and something dark moved, nearly invisible in the night.

"It was probably just a cat," Emma said, turning back to her daughter. "Let's get you back to bed."

"Yes, Mum," Hermione said, letting her mother lead her to her bedroom. Hermione shivered as soon as she stepped in, her breath appearing in front of her in a thin fog.

"Now go to sleep," Emma said, rubbing blearily at her eyes. "Your father and I have a conference in the morning and we don't want to be late."

"Of course, Mum," Hermione muttered as Emma closed the door. Still shivering, the young girl climbed into her nearly-freezing bed and pulled the covers over her snow-white head, only her wolf-like ears pointing out. She closed her eyes and curled up into as small a ball as she could. Her parents were always busy, always at work, or a conference or meeting and never having time for her. True, she had

The cold was even worse now, seeping into her bones with an icy grip. Her shivering grew stronger as her little body tried to generate warmth.

"Why is it so cold?" Hermione muttered, her breath coming out in a thick fog. Suddenly, a small tap tap tap came from her window.

_It's just a bird,_ she thought as she slipped out of bed, wrapping her blanket tightly around her shoulders. _Maybe it was an owl! I've never seen one up close before._

Hermione threw the drapes aside and slid open her second-story window, carefully peering over the edge to see what had tapped against her window. Nothing was on the ground below, or in the tree whose branches nearly reached her window and swayed in the wind. With a disappointed sigh, Hermione pulled herself back into her room and reached up to pull her window back down when something grabbed her around the middle.

Screaming, Hermione held fast to the windowsill, hooking her knee around the leg of her desk. Whatever it was that had grabbed her yanked hard on her torso. Her arms screamed at being stretched farther than they had before. The force gave another tug, the wood of the windowsill creaked and Hermione let out a short grunt. Another tug and the wood gave way; Hermione flew from her room in a shower of splinters. Screaming, Hermione was pulled to the ground and slammed hard against it. Whatever had grabbed her let go, and she drew in a harsh breath as she pushed herself onto her knees. A thin layer of ice had formed around her midsection and was cracking as she stood to face her attacker.

It was hard to see against the night sky and the tree. It fluttered like a tattered flag, a black so dark as to absorb the light and heat around it—an unnatural chill surrounded it, evidenced by the frost forming on the grass and leaves. It made no noise as it hovered ten feet away.

"_Hermione,"_ Amaterasu's voice sounded in her ear, _"You are outmatched right now."_

"What do you mean?" Hermione wondered, not taking her eyes off the floating shadow.

"_I will help,"_ Amaterasu said, and suddenly Hermione was looking at her own body as if she were floating above and behind it. Then, the whole world seemed to flatten and lose color, and Hermione found herself sitting at an artist's desk in a cream-colored void. A huge square of parchment detailing exactly what Hermione had seen was on the desk, along with three bottles of black ink and a brush.

"Watch," Amaterasu said from beside Hermione. The white wolf leaped onto the stool next to Hermione, dipped the tip of her tail into one of the ink bottles, and stared at the parchment. It shifted, as if a camera had tilted up to look at the night sky, and Amaterasu drew a circle on the parchment, right in the middle of the sky. "This is how the power of the Celestial Brush is used. I only have enough strength to help you for a short while, and only the power of Sunrise. It can extend the time of a day, even end a night."

"But how does that help? What's attacking me?"

"It is a Shadow, a foul creature of the cold and dark that feed on children. They are weakened by heat and light. You have the physical power to destroy it in that condition."

"But how do I—"

"Watch," Amaterasu ordered and the artist's desk was suddenly gone and the world in three dimensions again. Hermione was still floating above and behind herself, but her backyard was suddenly brighter, the sun rising over the eastern horizon. As soon as the light hit the Shadow, it let out a high shriek and fell, writhing to the ground. Hermione watched with eyes wide as her body jumped up and forward, tucked into a somersault, extended her leg to bring her foot down in a vicious heel-kick to the dead center of the Shadow. It squawked and slipped away, clutching at its chest with a few tattered strips. It shrieked again and flew at Hermione's body, but she jumped up into a spin and slammed her fist into the Shadow. It spasmed and let out a final, window-breaking scream and dissolved. Hermione, still watching the fight from her disembodied position, was suddenly tugged to her body.

Hermione blinked and looked around. She was back in her body, with a warm power flowing through her. The sun dimmed and disappeared, throwing her back into night.

"_I will not be able to do that again,"_ Amaterasu's voice said. _"My strength has been transferred to you, but you need to find the other Brush Gods to regain full power."_

"How do I find them?" Hermione asked.

"_They will make themselves apparent,"_ Amaterasu said. Something glimmered in the sky above Hermione and she turned to look at it. _"They are in the constellations found around your land, but they will need to be freed. Look."_

Hermione saw a few of the stars stand out from the others, grouped together and shining brightly. "It looks…I think it might be missing something."

"_Yes. You will need to use the Brush to free them by completing the constellation. Watch."_ Again, Hermione was sitting at the artist's desk with her view of the incomplete constellation detailed on the parchment. Amaterasu was sitting next to her. She said, "Take the brush and complete it."

Hermione picked up the brush and a warm, tender, motherly feeling filled her, as if she had just been given a loving hug. Remembering what Amaterasu did earlier, she dipped the brush into the nearest ink bottle and gingerly dotted the parchment where the missing star should have been. She moved to set the brush back on the stand and it melted into her palm. A new sensation started behind her, and she turned to see a tail much like Amaterasu's waving behind her.

"Now, we must meet Yorigami," Amaterasu said.


	3. Yomigami

A Goddess Walks Among Us

Chapter 3: Yomigami

Hermione found herself in the same peaches and cream plane as before. Amaterasu sat on her haunches beside Hermione, looking forward stoically. Hermione looked up and saw a huge dragon, glaring down at her. He undulated and twisted, his long and powerful body shining in the light that came from everywhere at once, and Hermione noticed that part of his tail was embedded in a huge scroll. His four talons gripped orbs of yellow light as he turned his great head to Amaterasu.

"This is her, Mother Amaterasu?" the dragon said.

"This is her, Yomigami," Amaterasu answered. Yomigami the dragon slinked down and snorted at Hermione, inspecting her carefully with his big eyes.

"She has great potential. And a pure heart," he said as he coiled back on himself. "I hold no regret in giving her my power of Rejuvenation."

As he spoke, Yomigami dissolved into a single orb with a symbol Hermione didn't recognize shining from the center. It shot forward and twirled around Hermione, who watched it with a mix of curiosity and caution. The only reason she wasn't curled up on the ground gibbering like a madwoman was the continued reassuring presence of Amaterasu. The orb orbited her one last time before thrusting itself into her chest, almost knocking the wind out of her. She stumbled backwards as the sudden surge of new power filled her, and she couldn't hold back the urge to toss her head back and howl. Hermione looked back to Amaterasu with a wide grin, and received one in return.

"There are many more that you must meet, Hermione," Amaterasu said. "But I know that you will meet my expectations and go well beyond them." Hermione instantly sobered up—to say that the fight with the Shadow was a surprise was like saying that spending a week in a desert could result in a parched throat. She would admit that she was a sheltered child. Her parents provided almost everything she needed or wanted, and protected her from dangers, but she knew of the evils of the world through news reports and history books. Even then, she still never expected such a thing to actually attack her in her own home.

"The Shadow was just the beginning," Amaterasu said. "Come now. You are safe. You should sleep." Hermione nodded softly, and when she next blinked, Amaterasu and the glowing clouds were gone. It was night in her back garden again, and she stood in the humid summer air in just a set of thin pajamas. A small voice in her ear, a voice she recognized as Amaterasu's whispered, "You must repair your window. The power of Rejuvenation will help you."

"How do I use it?" Hermione asked. Amaterasu chuckled softly.

"You must do what I did earlier. Pull yourself out of the world." Amaterasu chuckled again. "Maybe you should press 'L2'?"

"Pull myself…L2?" Hermione asked. She could almost see Amaterasu rolling on the floor and barking laughter.

"Nothing, nothing," Amaterasu said. "It was just a poor joke. Now. Look at the window. Focus. Focus on being at your table. Focus on holding the Brush. Close your eyes and don't just imagine you are there, will yourself to be at the table with the Brush in your hand, looking down at the canvas showing your window."

Hermione focused, concentrated, her eyes shut tight and her ears folded back. She felt an almost imperceptible shift and opened her eyes to find herself sitting at that same artist's table, Brush in hand, and the canvas, almost a meter square with dark grey lines detailing herself, Amaterasu, and her back garden. Hermione gripped the brush in her hand, and jumped when a soft furry snout brushed against her elbow.

"Good," Amaterasu said. "Now, focus. Turn the view to face your window."

"How do I do that?" Hermione asked, turning back to Amaterasu.

"The left analog stick," Amaterasu snickered playfully. Hermione's ears flattened as she gave a sharp look to the white wolf. Amaterasu shook herself and bumped her head against hermione's arm. "Will it. Want to look at your window, and you will."

Hermione turned back to the canvas, staring hard at it. Move, she thought. Turn. I want to see my window. She gave it a mental nudge and the lines shifted, twirling around until she could see the ragged hole where the Shadow had pulled her out of her bedroom window.

"Good," Amaterasu said, leaning into Hermione's side. She was soft and warm and Hermione draped her free arm over the wolf. "Now, take the brush. Dip it in the ink, and fill in the hole." Hermione did, her arm feeling like lead as she clumsily dipped the brush and blotched over the gaping wound that used to be her window. The ink let off a grey smoke, but Hermione barely noticed—a sweat was breaking out on her brow, and her arm slumped bonelessly to her side. She blinked slowly, her eyelids not wanting to open again. They did, just in time for her to look up from the grass in her back garden, and see the ink on her wall solidify into the form of her window, open to the outside, and looking as if nothing had happened to it.

Hermione lay on the cool grass, breathing deeply of the early morning air. Her limbs felt as if someone had replaced her muscles with marshmallows. She simply did not have the strength to move.

Well... It's certainly been a while for this one. I know it isn't much, but I finally found the notes and plans for this when moving into my dorm and just now got the time to do anything with them. Please leave a review, and if you like, check out my other story, which might eat up an hour or so.


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